The Cry of the Onlies by Judy Klass (Star Trek #46, October 1989).

The world of Boaco Six has recently seen the overthrow of a dictatorship, and the Enterprise is sent to see if relations can be established with the new government. This is especially important since a key pharmaceutical substance can be found in plentiful supply on that world. Even more, Federation ally Boaco Eight could be in trouble if Romulan or Klingon interests, as rumored, gain a foothold on its near neighbor.

Things seem to be going well until a prototype ship attacks a Boaco Six envoy's ship and destroys it. The Federation is blamed, and Captain Kirk and his crew must get to the bottom of the causes. Doing so takes them through a gauntlet of past decisions, for better and worse. Dealing with their past may be as difficult as dealing with the present.

This is Klass' first and only Star Trek novel, and her only published novel to date. She has written s-f short stories, but is not well-regarded enough to get cover billing on magazines like "Asimov's." Klass has also published books of poetry, and written movie scripts. She is apparently well known in the New York writers' scene. If this novel is indicative of her work, I'd avoid the rest.

The main story itself, of the planet wracked by an insurrection against a totalitarian government tolerated by the Federation, is passable if not overly compelling. It seems to indicate a mistrust of governmental power in general by the author. StarFleet and the Federation in general seem to be either unwise or incompetent, although the Enterprise crew are all right. But only Kirk, Spock and McCoy really get any time here, and their characters are not handled all that well.

There is also the matter of the mishmash of former TV episodes. "Miri" and "Requiem for Methuselah" plus a smidge of "Dagger of the Mind" are all grafted onto a reasonable story. A main character is killed offstage for no good dramatic reason. Old plot points are brought up, possibly to provide tension, but there is no payoff. The characters of Jahn (Miri) and Flint (Requiem) seem to be present just to provide counterpoints for Kirk. And the Romulans and Klingons are not worthy foes at all, but more ineffectual and ruthless despots.

It is all really poorly written. Descriptions are given of events and emotions that could be portrayed much better by dialogue, and situations which seem to be in the narrative for no other reason than to advance the plot or please the writer herself. There is no value here, nothing to enhance the characters, no meat. This is easily the worst Star Trek novel since some of the early efforts in the series. How this got past the editors is a bit of a mystery, especially with the rollback on published original series novels to just a few a year, with emphasis being put on the new Next Generation series.

It's a bad book. Leave it on the shelf. Run away, far away.